US SEC Budget Highlights Capital Formation And Small Business Capital Formation

In the recently released Congressional Budget Justification, the Securities and Exchange Commission highlights a number of priorities. In discussing the Division of Corporation Finance's activities, the request notes that the Division remains focused on measures designed to promote capital formation.

Among these, the report notes that the Division will consider and propose amendments to modernize disclosure requirements under Regulation S-K as part of the Disclosure Effectiveness Initiative and will implement recommendations resulting from the FAST Act-mandated Regulation S-K study.

The budget request also references the Commission's intent to "propose amendments to further facilitate capital formation through exempt and registered offerings." The request also refers to proposed amendments to modernize industry-specific disclosures applicable to real estate companies, including REITs.

While changes to Industry Guide 7 (mining) and Industry Guide 3 (financial institutions) have been underway, this is the first reference to changes to the REIT industry guide.

Reference is also made to the Commission's efforts to establish the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation.